Every day, at 6:50 AM and 6:50 PM the Cherish kids gather in their homes to take their ARVs (a combination of pills for their HIV treatment). The Cherish moms allow time to prep and administer each child's medicine to ensure that all pills are swallowed promptly at 7 am and 7 pm.

We are on a strict schedule in our Cherish Homes, because the HIV virus like many others, is complex. If a person living with HIV forgets to take their ARVS or takes their medication inconsistently, the virus can build up an immunity to treatment and can grow stronger in the body.

But, what happens when these kids move on from Cherish? What happens to the children that are living with HIV in our community, the ones who don't have a mother at home to create their daily routine?

I know it’s time to take my medicine when I hear the planes fly over the village in the morning and at night.

HIV-positive Children who attend Cherish Primary School and live in the community often struggle with creating a routine for taking their medication. Why? In the absence of electricity at home, many of these kids do not have a convenient way to track time.

Since we are located 30 minutes away from Entebbe Airport, we often hear children say, "I know it's time to take my medicine when I hear the planes fly over the village in the morning and at night."

We want to provide every child living with HIV in the Cherish community a wristwatch

We want these children taking their medicine in a timely manner so that their HIV treatment will be more effective. By supplying watches through our school, homes, and hospital, kids in the community can rely on their alarms to tell them its time for medicine rather than the sound of a random plane flying above.

A few cherish girls showing off their donated watches

Durable, water-proof children's watches cost around $15USD, and they can help provide routine so that an HIV+ child's health can improve.

Please join us in this initiative by purchasing a children's wristwatch to help us #ChangeTheStory of HIV.